Film Locations Glossary
Depiction release
What is a depiction release?
A depiction release is permission to portray a real, identifiable place, business, or property on screen in a particular way, going beyond the right to film there.
It matters when a location is shown as the scene of something unflattering, which is exactly the use an owner is least likely to have anticipated. Where the depiction is negative, productions usually rename, redress, or shoot a fictional composite instead.
Example
A scene sets a drug deal outside a real corner shop. The owner signed a location agreement for filming but not for that portrayal, so the production redresses the frontage as a fictional business and changes the signage.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
A legal and clearance question raised at script breakdown, well before the location is locked.
Common mistake
Assuming permission to film at a place includes permission to portray it however the script wants. An owner who agreed to a shoot did not agree to their business being the scene of a crime.
Related questions
- When do you need a depiction release?
- When a real, identifiable place or business is shown in a way its owner would not have anticipated, particularly anything unflattering or criminal.
- What do productions do when a depiction release is refused?
- Rename and redress the location as a fictional business, or shoot a composite so no real premises is identifiable in that context.